


Of Boys and Swords

by toribird



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bad Flirting, M/M, Mutual Pinning, applying your bestfriend’s war makeup is actually something, mai in this: you’re gay? and for that?, that can be so romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24462712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toribird/pseuds/toribird
Summary: Zuko’s not great at flirting. Luckily for him, Sokka’s too enamored to notice.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 106
Kudos: 2667





	Of Boys and Swords

**Author's Note:**

> I am living for this atla renaissance, and I am absolutely here for all the Zukka content. I saw this [ this tumblr text post](https://hanbroughrights.tumblr.com/post/619042324678410240/zuko-and-sokka-would-be-so-bad-at-flirting-with), blacked out, and woke up with this written.
> 
> Also huge shoutout to [ antineilgaim](https://antineilgaiman.tumblr.com/) for reading this for me! their running commentary was funnier than my fic

It starts sometime after he joins the group at the Western Air temple. Zuko can’t pinpoint exactly _when_ he started to develop his crush, but it becomes something fully solid and realized after the Boiling Rock. Specifically, it hits him after they get done sparring one day. They’re both sweaty and tired and Sokka is going on and on about something or another, and Zuko finds himself laughing along with the other boy. A voice in the back of his head tells him that it’s been longer than he can remember since he’s laughed like this--full bodied and carefree. 

It feels good, he thinks, to just...be happy like this. Sure, they’re gearing up to fight a huge battle soon, they’re preparing to take down his _father_ , but at that moment, he feels like a teenage boy. _I feel good_ , he thinks. And then he thinks: _Sokka makes me feel good._ And _then_ his brain catches up with that train of thought and short circuits a little. Oh. Oh _shit._ He likes Sokka. 

Katara’s going to _kill him._  
_____________________________________________  
In hindsight, he should have noticed earlier, he reasons. Toph didn’t have much of a history with him, so she had warmed up to him quite quickly after he arrived. Aang had forgiven him quickly, but their relationship is still awkward and stunted. 

With the others, he struggled more. But Sokka...Sokka’s attitude surprised him. 

Sokka, against all odds, seemed to not mind Zuko—which the firebender didn’t understand at all. The other teenager had every reason to hate him, like his sister did. And honestly, Zuko wouldn’t have blamed him if he did. But...after it was decided that Zuko was staying, Sokka took him in stride. Mostly he made fun of the Fire Nation prince, seeming to egg him on whenever he got the chance, but Zuko didn’t mind that much. It was better than the outright hostility he received from Katara. 

So, Sokka wasn’t a jerk to him. He didn’t go out of his way to hang out with the Prince, but he wasn’t avoiding him either. 

And then the Boiling Rock happened. The initial flight over had been quiet and awkward ( _That’s rough buddy_ \--really? Zuko berated himself, _that’s the best you could come up with?_ ), but after a while they fell into a friendly rapport. And, once they arrived at the prison itself everything...just clicked into place. Sokka is a natural born leader, and Zuko found himself trusting him easily. They work together as a great team; Sokka’s good with the big picture, and Zuko helps him account for the details. 

It’s on the flight back that Zuko realizes just how _much_ has changed—not only in the weeks since he joined the gang, but even within the past few days in the prison. He didn’t think twice about jumping to the gandula—he didn’t doubt for a moment that Sokka wouldn’t catch him. 

There’s not a lot of people he trusts like that. 

He also realizes that, despite being locked up in a literal fucking _prison,_ he thinks that he’s smiled more the past few days than he has in, well, years.  
_____________________________________________

Zuko knows that he’s not the best people-person—his social skills always leave something to be desired. He’s self-aware, but this comes to a head when he first tries to flirt with Sokka. 

It...does not go well. 

They’re sparring together, and Zuko is _trying_ to focus, but he keeps getting distracted by the other boy’s arms as they fight. Eventually, Sokka manages to gain the upper hand, and Zuko finds himself on the ground with a sword pointed at his throat and Sokka grinning down at him. 

“Looks like I’m finally getting the better of you,” Sokka says, before offering a hand to Zuko, who graciously grasps it and uses it to pull himself up. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but lets Sokka have his fun. He tries not to think about the fact that he was just holding Sokka’s hand. 

They wander over to a nearby fountain to take a water break, and Sokka is chattering away, and Zuko is watching him, happy to listen and let Sokka talk. He really enjoys letting Sokka lead the conversations; doesn’t mind when the other boy goes off on one tangent or another. Zuko sits and listens, slightly lost in his own thoughts on the boy in front of him. 

“Man though, it is so unfair,” Sokka says to Zuko, “I mean I did beat you this time, but you shouldn’t be allowed to be good at firebending and swordbending. That’s almost cheating.” 

Zuko feels his face heat up at the compliment, and coughs awkwardly. “That’s not...I’ve been training with my swords for years...and it’s not like I’m that great of a firebender. That’s more Azula’s department; she’s a prodigy. If anything, I trained with my swords in order to make up for my bending.” 

Sokka looks at Zuko like he’s just insulted him. “Dude! You gotta give yourself more credit.”

Zuko blushes again, “I--uh. Thanks. I guess.”

S0kka slaps him on the back. “No problem dude. Just accept the compliment next time. I swear you’re worse than—”

“You uh—fight well too!” Zuko blurts out, to his own mortification. 

Sokka stops talking, then snorts. “Thanks.” 

Zuko flounders. “No I—I really mean that! You have a lot of skill for someone who started less than a year ago. And...and your sword!” Zuko says, pointing to the item. 

Sokka raises his eyebrow. “My sword?”

“Yeah! I uh...like your space sword. It’s really cool...because it’s made out of space...stuff…” Oh agni, just strike him down. 

Sokka gets a weird look on his face, then laughs and pats Zuko on the back again. “Thanks man.” He stands up and jerks his head towards where they were practicing earlier. “One more round before dinner?”

Zuko nods, grabs his swords, and follows Sokka back to the open area, hoping his embarrassment isn’t written all over his face.  
_____________________________________________  
“Space sword? I like your SPACE SWORD?” Zuko mumbles to himself later, while he’s out gathering food. “Unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable.”  
_____________________________________________  
Zuko mostly sits on his feelings, because even if he had the time to act on them, he doubts that Sokka feels the same. It didn’t really matter, regardless, because they were getting ready to take down the Fire Lord. His father. And that meant that his crush would have to take a backseat. 

Still, there were moments where it was really hard to ignore them. Like right now. Sokka is draped over him, blissfully unaware that he is completely within Zuko’s personal space. 

Sokka and Zuko are stowed away in a backroom of Zuko’s old summer house on Ember Island. It’s late, and they’re both a little tipsy—though Sokka more so than Zuko. (Zuko has a fairly good tolerance. He lived on a navy ship for three years, which certainly helped). Sokka, having grown up in the middle of nowhere in the South, very much does not. 

But, that doesn’t bother Zuko. Sokka is already a very tactile and handsy kind of guy, and it seems alcohol seems to increase this personality trait. Zuko finds this both pleasant and overwhelming.

“I cannot fucking believe that play man. Like, what?” Sokka says eloquently, his arm wrapped around Zuko’s shoulder, his side pressed into Zuko’s. 

Zuko snorts and takes another sip from the wine bottle that they’re sharing. It’s just the two boys. They had invited Suki, but she had been too tired to join them, and the others, they all decided, were too young to partake in drinking. 

“I told you guys it would be awful. They always fucking butchered Love Among the Dragons. They’re so bad it’s almost criminal.” 

Sokka jerks his head up, and it looks like he has an idea. “Dude! Dude, when you become Fire Lord you should ban them from ever making a play again. That should be the first thing on your list. Other than like, ending the war and shit.” 

There’s a laugh that bubbles out of Zuko like a surprise. Only Sokka would urge Zuko to ban some shitty actors as his first order as Fire Lord. _If_ he becomes Fire Lord. If they even manage to defeat his dad. He shakes those thoughts out of his head, not wanting to ruin the easy atmosphere between the two of them. 

“Sure, it’ll be a top priority. The citizens of my nation will know how seriously I take the arts,” Zuko says dryly. 

Sokka laughs, and the two fall into a comfortable silence, taking turns drinking and just enjoying each other’s company. Sokka lays his head down on Zuko’s legs, and Zuko is thankful that the room is dark enough to hide the blush that dusts his cheeks. Then Zuko remembers something. 

“Oh, hey. I didn’t know you guys knew Jet too! That’s so crazy.”

Sokka’s eyes widened in surprise. “You knew Jet?” he asks.

“Oh, um. Yeah?” Zuko says uncertainly. “We met on a boat going to Ba Sing Se, and he invited me to join his little gang of fighters.” 

“Let me get this straight. Jet—the fire nation's number one hater, asked _you_ , Prince fucking Zuko, to join his freedom fighters?” 

“Well when you put it like that…” 

“The fire bending didn’t turn him off?”

Zuko laughs at that. “Oh man, when he found out yeah. But he didn’t know at first. We obviously wouldn’t have fooled around if he had,” Zuko says before slamming his mouth shut. Oops. 

Sokka shoots up and faces Zuko. “Excuse me?!” he says, his voice cracking. 

Zuko can suddenly feel the heat rising in his face. “I—it was...I mean, as soon as he found out, that stopped of course. He tried to get Uncle and I arrested, but he ended up being taken by the police. I actually feel pretty bad about that—”

“You KISSED Jet?” Sokka cuts him off, still preoccupied on that one point. 

Zuko wishes the earth would open up and swallow him. “It was—it was only a few times! I don’t have to explain myself to you!”

“YOU KISSED HIM MORE THAN ONCE?” 

Zuko buries his face in his hands. Is he really having this conversation? “Yes,” he mumbles feebly through his fingers.

Zuko can feel Sokka staring at him, and then he hears loud laughter. He lifts his head to see Sokka clutching his stomach. “Tui and La,” Sokka says, “your taste in people is _terrible!”_

“Hey!” Zuko snaps, “that’s not fair. And keep it down unless you want to wake the whole house.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, wheezing. “It’s just—first it’s the scary knife girl—” 

“Her name is _Mai_ —” 

“And then it’s fucking _Jet!_ Seriously dude, your taste in people is questionable at best.”

Watching Sokka laugh at his expense, Zuko rolls his eyes. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he says dryly, almost wishing that Sokka knew how ironic that was. 

But he doesn’t seem to notice Zuko’s tone. He punches him in the shoulder softly. “Of course I’m right! When am I ever wrong?” 

“Seriously,” the firebender replies, raising an eyebrow, “do you really want to go there?” 

The other boy doesn’t rise to the bait, just smiles a big crooked grin at him that makes Zuko’s heart speed up. “Well, if we compare our dating history, mine has way less crazy people.” He chuckles softly. “Fucking Jet,” he says again, with just a touch of bitterness in his voice. “You could do so much better buddy.”

Zuko doesn’t respond to that. He just takes another big swig of wine and changes the subject.  
_____________________________________________  
Out of everyone in the group, it is Sokka that he seeks out the most for advice. This doesn’t surprise him. 

But he _does_ find it surprising that it is often also the other way around. Sokka goes to Zuko when he needs to go over plans. Sokka talks to Zuko when he needs to rant or complain. 

Most shocking, it is Zuko that Sokka goes to hours before they are to leave for the Fire Nation. He comes to his tent, make-up in hand and a favor on his lips. 

He asks Zuko to help him apply his warrior make-up, and Zuko has no idea why—surely Sokka’s dad, or Suki would be more equipped to handle this. But he says yes anyway. 

They don’t talk much while he does it, aside from Sokka telling him what marks go where. They’re both nervous, both terrified about what the coming hours have in store for them. Zuko does his best to be gentle and tries so very hard to get the markings correct. It almost feels like too much, being this close to Sokka. 

When he is done, Sokka looks at his reflection and smiles. “It’s great,” he tells Zuko. “Thank you. It really means a lot that you helped me with this.” 

“I—...Yeah. Of course,” Zuko says. Of course he would help Sokka. 

Outside, they can hear people getting ready, gathering and getting to their stations. 

Sokka swallows. “I guess this is it.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

The other boy takes a deep breath, like he’s preparing himself. “Listen Zuko I—” he stops, and a strangled sound breaks out of his throat, like he’s trying to swallow something, but isn’t quite successful.

He takes another deep breath. “Just...be careful today, ok? And please, don’t let anything happen to my sister.” 

Zuko nods. “Of course. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“I know you won’t...just make sure you _both_ come back. Okay?” 

Zuko swallows. “I will.” There’s more noise outside, and they both know they need to leave soon. Sokka turns to leave, then stops, and suddenly he’s hugging Zuko. He barely has any time to react, before Sokka pulls away and is running out of the tent. 

“See you on the other side!” he calls.  
_____________________________________________

His chest is exploding with pain, and for a moment he can do nothing but twitch and try to remember how to breathe. 

His sister loses. It’s over quickly. That’s something that he’ll remember for the rest of his life. In the moment, every move, every dodge—even when he jumped in front of Katara—it all seemed so slow. Like the time had decided to pace itself for him. But after, he is surprised at how quick it actually happened; the fight between Azula and Katara is over in minutes. 

They all fight. And the craziest part is, they win.  
_____________________________________________  
After a much celebrated reunion with everyone when it’s all said and done, he finds himself face to face with Sokka, who looks torn between murdering Zuko and crying on him. 

It’s extremely weird. 

Sokka settles on hugging him (gently), and Zuko is careful to support Sokka so he doesn’t hurt his broken leg. Sokka thanks him for saving his little sister, but he also tells him that if he ever almost dies again, he _will_ kick his ass.  
_____________________________________________

He’s crowned Fire Lord, and he still doesn’t quite know what to think about that. But, all his friends are there to celebrate with him and Uncle cries and tells him how proud he is, and well—

He may be terrified out of his mind, but the sight of friends laughing eases the tightness in his chest.  
_____________________________________________  
Sokka continues to surprise him. A few days before he’s set to leave he tells Zuko (doesn’t ask, _tells_ ) that he’s the new ambassador for the Fire Nation. 

“What?” Zuko asks, looking up. He’s in his study, pouring over important documents (who knew ending a war would be so _hard?_ ) when Sokka had barged in, making his announcement. The guards behind him don’t seem too happy about the fact that Sokka pushed past them into the room, but Zuko waves his hands at them, signalling them to drop it. 

Sokka, for his part, doesn’t seem to even notice. “Yeah! I figured, I already have an in with both of the Water Tribes, and with some of the Earth kings. It’d probably be easier to send me than some random Fire Nation noble.”

Zuko opens his mouth. Then closes it. Then opens it again “What about Suki?” 

“What? Dude, we broke up like, weeks ago. Did you not know that?” 

Zuko shakes his head no. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Sokka waves his hand. “Don’t be. It was completely amicable. We’re still friends.”

“What about Katara and Aang?” Zuko blurts out, kicking himself. Was he _trying_ to drive him away?” 

“What about them?” Sokka asks. 

“Don’t you want to go with them?”

Sokka pulls a face. “Gross, no thank you. They’re all smoochy and lovey-dovey. I can’t stand it. Besides, I just spent the year traveling, and I’d like to be somewhere where I can do something useful.”

Zuko isn’t sure what to say, and in his silence Sokka rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, of course, if you’ll have me…”

“Of course! Of course I’ll have you!” Zuko says, stumbling to reassure Sokka. He distantly hears one of his guards smother a laugh with a cough and Zuko _very_ purposefully ignores it. “I mean, I think that’s a really great idea Sokka. Thank you for offering.”

Sokka beams at him and Zuko can feel his mouth twitch up into a smile. “Awesome! You won’t regret this! I’m going to go let everyone know the great news!” Sokka says turning to leave. 

When he reaches the door he turns to look at the young Fire Lord again. “It looks like I’ll be sticking around for a while, your highness,” and winks at Zuko before he leaves. 

Zuko didn’t know it was possible to blush that hard. He groans and sets his head down. “I’m so fucked,” he mumbles and he hears one of his guards stifle another laugh. He vaguely wonders if it would be unbecoming of the Fire Lord to flip his guards the bird.  
_____________________________________________

He realizes very quickly that he needs to talk to Mai. Luckily, everything goes over better than he could have hoped for. It’s actually Mai who goes to him first, telling him that she cares for him, but that she’s just not interested in men. Zuko’s beyond relieved, and he tells her that he isn’t sure he even likes women. Mai snorts, and tells him that she knows. 

“I—what?” He finds himself saying that a lot these days. 

Mai sighs and rolls her eyes. “It’s super obvious. And even if you didn’t, we still wouldn’t have worked out. We weren’t good for each other, I think.”

Zuko opens his mouth but Mai cuts him off. “Don’t even try to argue. Neither of us were that into our relationship. I think we were more into the idea of it, than each other.”

Zuko rubs his neck and huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s...actually really true. I’m glad this was so easy.” 

Mai just rolls her eyes, and nudges his shoulder. “So, who is it?”

“Who is it?” Zuko repeats. 

“Yeah, the guy you’re hung up on, dummy. It’s pretty obvious that there’s someone.”

Zuko coughs into his hand. “...Sokka.”

Mai almost looks like she’s going to laugh. Which is saying a lot. “The Water Tribe boy?”

“What’s that look for?” 

“Seriously?” She asks. _“Him?”_

“There’s nothing wrong with him!” Zuko snaps irritably at Mai.

“Didn’t he once get two fishhooks stuck in his thumb?” 

“...your point?” 

“I can’t believe you’re into guys and you pick _him.”_

_“Mai!”_

She huffs out a half laugh. “Your taste is questionable.”

“He’s told me the same thing,” Zuko says with a groan. A beat. “Hey, I dated you. What does that say about my taste?”

Mai holds up a finger. “First off all, I’m the exception that proves the rule. Second of all,” she says adding another finger, “don’t remind me of my past mistakes. And finally, we’re both gay so it doesn’t really count.”

Zuko snorts. She has a point. 

Mai pauses for a moment before speaking again. “If he breaks your heart, I will kill him.”

“Mai!” Zuko strangles out in a manner very unbecoming for the Fire Lord. 

“Seriously, I could take him easily.”

“I know...Thanks Mai.”

“Yeah, whatever.”  
_____________________________________________  
Having Sokka around is both great and unbearable. Sometimes Zuko just wants to grab him and kiss him. They still spar, when they have time, and he enjoys it, but it does little to quell his growing crush. Sometimes they spar for fun, sometimes to get rid of their anger when politics become too much. After one match, Zuko tries again to compliment Sokka. 

The new ambassador had managed to pin Zuko down, holding his hands above his head. When Zuko finally taps out, they both rise and he says:

“You have nice hands.” 

“What?” Sokka asks. 

“You uh, have nice hands. They’re soft. It’s…nice,” he finishes lamely and oh agni above, shouldn’t he be better at this? 

Sokka has a funny look on his face that Zuko can’t really parse out. “You really think so?” 

“Yes! I noticed earlier when you, ah, pinned me down.” 

Sokka, the bastard, only says, “Huh. Thanks.” And then the topic is dropped.  
_____________________________________________  
He tries again with food. Zuko knows Sokka isn’t a big fan of spicy food, which is deeply unfortunate considering that almost everything in the fire nation is spicy. So he asks the palace chef to start adding in traditional watertribe dishes for dinner. 

The first time Sokka sees sea prune soup and seal jerky, his eyes grow three sizes. He immediately devours the food, while Zuko smiles softly. 

“Did you do this?” Sokka asks between bites. 

“Yeah. Er, no? I mean,” he stumbles. “I didn’t cook the food, but I asked the chef to start adding in some southern watertribe food for dinner.” 

“Oh man, you are the _best!”_ Sokka says, mouth slightly full of food. 

“Is it good?” Zuko asks. 

“I mean, it doesn’t compare to Gran-Gran’s food, but holy spirits, they really did their research.” 

Zuko feels unnecessarily proud for the rest of the evening.  
_____________________________________________  
It goes on like that for a few weeks, but nothing happens between them and Zuko feels like pulling out his hair. Is he really that bad at flirting? Maybe Sokka just isn’t into him like that? 

At times, Zuko is ready to give up on his crush, ready to call it off. But then Sokka will hug him, or smile at him, or compliment him and all of Zuko’s common sense flies out the window. 

So he keeps flirting. Life keeps moving forward, Sokka stays in the Fire nation, and Zuko keeps mooning over him.  
_____________________________________________  
Being Fire Lord is hard. Being the youngest ruler in the history of your nation is even harder. Many other rulers won’t take him seriously due to his age—it’s frustrating, and extremely lonely sometimes. Having Sokka around really helps, however; he’s a blessing. 

Most of the time. 

Right now, the southern Water Tribe ambassador is trying to manhandle Zuko out of his study. 

“Dude, you need to sleep!” Sokka says, taking away the important scrolls Zuko was reading. 

“Hey!” Zuko yells, “Those are important! Give them back— _Sokka!_ ” Zuko tries and fails to snatch scrolls back. 

“Nah, I don’t think I will. When’s the last time you slept?” 

“I don’t need to sleep,” Zuko snaps. “What I _need_ is to sort out this mess with the fire nation colonies.” 

There’s an uncomfortable pause. Zuko looks at Sokka’s face and frowns. “What?” 

Sokka’s eyebrows furrow. “Dude. Seriously, when’s the last time you slept?”

Sokka repeats his question when Zuko mumbles unintelligibly. He sighs, and looks at his desk sheepishly. “I slept for a few hours….yesterday?” 

The other man blinks, and then grabs Zuko under his arms and hauls him up. Zuko squawks indignantly and half heartedly tries to push Sokka off. 

“Sokka what—I am the _Fire Lord!_ You can’t just tell me what to do!” 

“Sure I can!” Comes Sokka’s easy reply. “And right now I’m telling you that you need to sleep.” He has Zuko standing up now, and he slings his arm around the Fire Lord’s shoulder, not letting go. Despite himself, Zuko leans into the touch. 

“Sokka,” Zuko grumbles, rolling his eyes, “I don’t have time right now, I need to work.” He looks to his personal guard for help. “Tell Ambassador Sokka that his worry is unfounded.”

His guard shifts his weight, glancing to the side. “Sir, you have been fairly tired lately. I am inclined to agree with the ambassador,” his guard says, the fucking traitor. 

Zuko sighs, but knows when to pick his battles. “Ok fine. Whatever,” he says, but his mouth twitches into a smile when Sokka beams at him. 

“I knew you’d come around!” Sokka leads him to his chambers, his arm never leaving Zuko’s shoulder. When they arrive at his room, Sokka all but pushes him in, before turning to his guard. “Don’t let him leave unless he’s gotten _at least_ six hours of sleep.”

Before Zuko can protest because _really Sokka that is so unnecessary_ —Sokka fucking _winks at him again_ and Zuko’s mind goes blank. Waving goodnight, Sokka leaves and Zuko is alone. 

Shaking his head, Zuko undresses for bed. Vaguely he thinks that maybe Sokka was right about him needing more sleep, because as soon as his head hits his pillow, he’s out like light.  
_____________________________________________  
He’s jerked out of sleep to the sound of glass shattering. 

He barely manages to yell for his guard before there’s a hand covering his mouth, and another one trying to force him down on the bed. 

Zuko knees the assailant in the stomach, and rolls off of the bed while his attacker wheezes. He stands up, and by then his attacker has composed themself. Whoever they are, Zuko can see them reach for something that, once it’s pulled out, flashes silver in the moonlight. 

This is an assassination attempt. 

Throwing his hands backwards, Zuko lights up twin daggers of fire and grounds himself, waiting for the assassin to attack. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he vaughly wonders where his guards are. 

The assailant wastes no time and jumps towards Zuko. Zuko sends a burst of flames out, which briefly light up the room around them. The attacker quickly dodges it and swings a knife at Zuko. It’s sloppy, and Zuko easily rolls away, sending another blast of fire at the assassin, and internally winces as the corner of his bed gets caught in the crossfire. He really likes his bed, even if he doesn’t use it enough. 

The assassin is persistent; they swoop under the blast and charge at Zuko—catching him by surprise. He slams into the Fire Lord’s stomach and shoves him against the wall near the window he must have crawled through. The wind gets knocked out of Zuko for a moment, and he wheezes. 

Knocked against the wall, the assailant throws his arm back, his hand in a fist, but Zuko is able to jerk his upper body to the side quickly enough. Instead of connecting to his face, their hand slams into the wall and Zuko is able to rip himself away while his attacker is off balance. 

He quickly whips around the assassin, so that he’s facing his back. Zuko jabs them in the lower back with his hand and he spins them around while they struggle to catch their breath.

Zuko is finally able to reach out, and he knocks the knife out of the assassin’s—the other man’s—hands. Before he can react, Zuko has him pinned against the wall with his left arm against his chest, while his other fist is raised in front of the man’s face, as a warning. Blood thundering through his ears, he kicks the knife far out of reach behind him and growls “Who are you and what do you want?” 

The man struggles a moment, before snarling at Zuko, “I am one of many who wish to see honor restored to the throne you _stole.”_

His full attention is on the man in front of him, but Zuko is pretty sure he can hear footsteps _finally_ running towards his room. He’s tired, and he’s more than happy to turn his attacker over to his guards and deal with him in the morning. He decides to not dignify the assassin with a response, and instead waits for his guards to come and arrest the man. 

Suddenly, multiple things happen at once. The door to his room finally opens. At the same time, his assailant's eyes look over Zuko’s shoulder into the room behind him, and the young Fire Lord feels his stomach drop at what that means. But before his body can react, his lower back explodes in pain and he drops the man in front of him. 

Dropping to the ground, he focuses on his breathing as his vision swims. He isn’t attacked again, and can hear commotion around him that he assumes are his guards taking care of his attackers. Why didn’t he think to check to make sure there wasn’t more than one assassin? He abandons that thought in favor of focusing on breathing, which _fucking hurts_ right now. Black dots are starting to spot his vision, and he is only partially aware when he feels a gentle pair of hands turning him over to face two blues eyes. Before he passes out completely, he swears he can hear his name being called.  
_____________________________________________

He wakes up, and he’s not in his bedroom. He’s...in the palace’s infirmary. His head hurts, his mouth feels drier than it ever has before, and he feels _exhausted._

He tries to sit up, but stops and groans at the pain he feels in his lower back. _Oh yeah. He was attacked._

Before he can process that thought, two gentle hands are guiding him back down. 

“Don’t try to sit up just yet, you still need to rest,” a familiar voice says. 

He lets himself lay back down, but turns his head. “Uncle?” he asks, surprised, but happy to see the older man. “Why aren’t you in Ba Sing Se?”

“I came as soon as I heard about the attempt on your life,” his Uncle’s eyes shine with concern, but he has a soft smile on his face. “I am glad you’re ok.” 

“Was anyone else hurt in the attack?” Zuko asks. 

“The guards in front of your room were knocked out, but other than that, everyone is ok. The two assassins were arrested.”

Zuko breathes out a sigh of relief at that. He still feels so tired, but having his Uncle here is calming for him. 

The door suddenly swings open, and then Sokka is in the room with them. 

“Zuko! You’re awake!” He says, rushing over to his bed. 

Iroh stands, and offers Sokka the chair he was sitting in next to Zuko’s bed. Sokka sits down and his Uncle moves to leave. 

“Ah, perhaps I can get you some water, nephew. I will be back in a moment,” and he sweeps out of the room. Zuko doesn’t like the look in his Uncle’s eye, but he’s too preoccupied by Sokka’s presence to consider what it could mean. 

“Hey Sokka,” Zuko says, trying to smile, only to end up grimacing in pain instead. 

Sokka reaches forward, then retracts his hands. He doesn’t look like he knows what to do—he’s buzzing with nervous energy. He settles on putting his hands in his lap, but he still leans forward, looking at Zuko with concern. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Zuko almost winces at the memory of the knife in his back. “I’ve been better,” he says and Sokka bites his lip with worry. 

“Hey, it still isn’t as bad as being shot full of lightning, so there’s that,” Zuko says, trying to lighten the mood. The joke falls flat, and if anything Sokka looks more anxious than before. 

“I—” he starts. “Sokka. I’m ok,” he says, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Really, I am.”

Sokka reaches to take Zuko’s hand. “But you almost _weren’t_. If the guards and I had arrived any later, you’d be—”

“But you didn’t,” Zuko says firmly. “You arrived just in time.” 

Sokka looks like he wants to argue for a moment. He opens his mouth, closes it, then sighs and smiles ruefully. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

His Uncle returns a moment later. His eyes look at Zuko’s hand, which is currently being held by Sokka’s, and he raises an eyebrow. Zuko can feel his cheeks heat up, but Sokka seems to not notice anything. 

Neither of them move their hands away.  
_____________________________________________  
His Uncle tells him that he plans on staying at the palace for a few months. 

“It has been so long since I last visited. And besides, I could use a break from running my tea shop,” his Uncle says easily, but Zuko knows what he’s trying to do. He saw how worried his Uncle looked when he woke up. 

Apparently he had been passed out for two whole days. 

He doesn’t really mind having his Uncle around, he makes him feel more relaxed. It’s also nice to have someone older to turn to for advice. Though, there are times when his Uncle’s advice is less than welcome. 

They’re sitting in the gardens, having tea—because of course they are—when his Uncle broaches the subject. 

“You know,” he says casually, “Ambassador Sokka is a great friend. You are very lucky to have someone like him in your life.” 

Zuko narrows his eyes slightly. “I agree. He’s been very helpful in facilitating agreements between the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom.” 

“He’s very easy on the eyes as well,” his Uncle says, and Zuko chokes at the tea he’s drinking. 

_“Uncle!”_

“I’m just saying! You seem quite taken with him, and he cares a great deal for you.” 

“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zuko stutters. 

His Uncle shrugs and takes another sip of tea, but Zuko can tell he’s smirking. “Whatever you say, nephew. But! If you ever want any advice on courting—“

“Uncle, _please—”_

“I was quite the ladies man in my prime,” he says, completely ignoring Zuko’s embarrassment. “Did I ever tell you the story of how I won over my late wife?”

“This cannot be happening.”  
_____________________________________________  
Things change a bit between them after the attack. Sokka almost never leaves Zuko’s side. It’s almost nice, in the beginning, having him around so often. 

But, it slowly grates on Zuko’s nerves, because whenever he thinks Zuko isn’t looking, Sokka has this worried look on his face. And yes, he was stabbed, but he’s _fine_ now! It irritates him that Sokka doesn’t trust him or his guards to look after him. He’s not some useless, fragile royal—he can defend himself. 

(He stubbornly ignores the fact that last time he defended himself, he _did_ end up with a knife in his back. But that was a fluke). 

He tries to be patient, though. Tries not to let his annoyance get the better of him, but it comes to a head one day when they’re training again. It had taken longer than he would have liked for his healer to approve him to restart his firebending and sword practices. It had taken even longer to convince _Sokka_ to let him spar with him. And even now, while they’re practicing, he can tell Sokka is holding back on him. 

And it’s pissing him off. 

He comes at him, both blades drawn, and Sokka easily deflects him. Zuko takes a step back, and purposely leaves an opening for Sokka to attack—and when he doesn’t Zuko grinds his teeth. 

“What the hell Sokka?” He says, trying to rein in his annoyance. 

“What?” Sokka says, trying very badly to play dumb. 

“You’re going easy on me. I can tell. You have been ever since the attack.”

“That’s not—I don’t know what—“ 

“I’m not some fragile piece of glass Sokka! I can handle myself,” he bites out. 

“I just don’t want to see you hurt again!” Sokka blurts out. 

He blinks. “What? Sokka, I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re fine. But you almost _weren’t_ and I—” he cuts himself off and rubs his eyes for a moment. “Just—Tui and La Zuko, I was almost too late. I was the one that all but forced you to go to bed early that night, and then you get fucking attacked by _assassins!”_

Zuko doesn’t know what to say. “Sokka—”

“And then I run to your room just in time to see you get stabbed in the back and Zuko,” he struggles at the memory. “There was so much blood, and I thought I was too late and then you passed out and you were still bleeding—”

Zuko starts making his way towards him, unsettled at the rising panic that’s clearly building in Sokka. 

“And I almost lost you _again._ I just,” he takes a deep breath, and Zuko’s now in front of him. “I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you Zuko. I care about you too much.”

Zuko doesn’t know how to respond to that. He tries to think of something to say, of something to tell Sokka to reassure him, but he can’t. Really, words aren’t his strong suit anyway, so he decides to try something else. 

He grabs Sokka’s face with his hands and leans forward and kisses him. 

Sokka freezes, and a pit starts to form in the bottom of Zuko’s stomach. He starts to pull away, but then Sokka’s the one who grabs him, muttering, “No way, I’ve waited way too long for this,” before kissing him back. 

_This is good,_ he thinks. It feels like everything has finally clicked into place. 

Their swords lay forgotten, the sun is beating down on them both, and Zuko thinks he could live in this moment forever.  
_____________________________________________  
Epilogue  
“So you’re...not mad?”

Katara rolls her eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you two to get together since the end of the war honestly. Sokka hasn’t shut up about you for the past _year.”_

He and Sokka have been together for a while, and with all their friends visiting, they had finally decided to tell everyone, starting with Katara. 

“Really?” Zuko asks. 

“Oh yeah,” she says. “He didn’t shut up for a whole week that one time you complimented his sword. ‘ _He thinks my sword is cool, Katara!’_ ” Katara says, doing a frankly horrible, but extremely funny, Sokka impression. “And he wouldn’t stop talking about you in his letters. It was always _‘Katara, he thinks my hands are soft, can you believe it?’ or ‘he walked with me across the gardens today, he’s such a gentleman!’”_

Zuko snorts, then says ,“I guess my flirting wasn’t that bad.”

Katara quickly shuts that train of thought down. “Oh, absolutely not. I’ve witnessed your ‘flirting,’ and Zuko it’s terrible. You’re just lucky Sokka was too head over heels for you to care.”

Zuko looks across the courtyard, where he and Katara are seated, and sees Sokka talking animatedly about something. He looks as Sokka throws his head back, laughing at something Toph says and he smiles. “Yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky.” 

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr about atla, zukka or anything in general. I'm [torsamors](https://torsamors.tumblr.com). Comment to save my life.


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